9 replies to this topic

[frax]

It was a long time since we saw some candidate for worst map, so I thought I would pull one out.

I saw this map a long time ago, when this got out in the Swedish papers, and I downloaded it then and stored it on my hard-drive (this is 2-3 years ago). I wasn't able to find it now. I think it was from the site famouslandmarks.net, which has the same bad/funny spelling on some of the sights. I think this map was an imagemap with links to those sights.


Ok, so not it is not the best cartography and the spelling sucks, but that is not what is so bad about it - if you know Stockholm a bit you would immediately see that this is a map of Stockholm (including some of the closer suburban areas) and they have randomly distributed the sights all over the map. Maybe one or two are in the neighborhood of being correct, but the rest is waaaay off...

[Hans van der Maarel]

Having been to Stockholm once, I can already spot some of the more major errors... This is pretty bad indeed. I'm getting the feeling that they didn't really mean to convey this map as being accurate, but *because* it's a map and *because* they used point symbols, they do give the impression of having some degree of accuracy.

Let's hope nobody will ever use this map to navigate through Stockholm

[Dennis McClendon]

Here's one of my all-time favorites, showing North Idahotana, Calizona, New Yorkachusetts, Georgabama, Kansarado, and almost unnoticed, Tennelina.
 JCB_USA.gif   23.2K   363 downloads
When I finish smirking, I wonder what kinds of errors I'm making on maps I draw of faraway lands.

[Kartograph]

This, in all it´s sloppyness is somehow cute

[Hans van der Maarel]

Congratulations, I think that's the first time anybody used that smily here...

Anyway, I nominate this one:

A 1:25.000 scale map of the area between Aachen (Germany) and Liege (Belgium), specifically marketed for hiking and biking tourism in that area. I picked this up back in '97 when I was on a school field trip there. We stayed in a vacation home there and surveyed and mapped the area. One day one of my fellow students came in and said: "Guys, check out the maps they're selling at the tourist office here!", so we took a look and had a laugh. Then we all rushed to the tourist office to buy our own copy

 IMG_2282_large.JPG   177.17K   352 downloads  IMG_2283_large.JPG   137.58K   280 downloads

Some highlights:
- The deep, almost glossy black used to indicate built-up areas
- The large type used (the capital L of "La Calamine" is 10mm tall)
- The large point symbols in the same glossy black as the built-up areas and the type.

[Kartograph]

That makes me Avantgarde, does it not?

I really fee for the poor chap who had to make the map. I imagine him faithfully tracing from a crappy school atlas scan, all the while not knowing anything about those state borders.
I once did something like that for Uzbekistan and Afghanistan while in the military. I was a bit (actually a lot) more geometrically correct, but who knows what I really did?
I only was working on the info gathered by others.
So I feel for him/her.

<farawaylook>
Oftentimes we scan and trace without thinking too much about the sources. Deadlines and the "great" pay thematic maps bring put some pressure on it too. It´s all about your personal integrity to make things as correct as they appear when digitally mapped.
There is a german word: "Berufsehre" (lit. "honour of your calling/chosen job").
</farawaylook>

[Nick Springer]

Here's one of my all-time favorites, showing North Idahotana, Calizona, New Yorkachusetts, Georgabama, Kansarado, and almost unnoticed, Tennelina.
 JCB_USA.gif   23.2K   363 downloads
When I finish smirking, I wonder what kinds of errors I'm making on maps I draw of faraway lands.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Couldn't resist adding West Kentuckaginia

[brentpalmer]

Edited due to having misread a particular map feature (oh boy, do I feel stupid)

Edited by brentpalmer, 04 October 2008 - 10:05 AM.

[brentpalmer]

See above

Edited by brentpalmer, 04 October 2008 - 10:05 AM.

[Gregg]

A 1:25.000 scale map of the area between Aachen (Germany) and Liege (Belgium), specifically marketed for hiking and biking tourism in that area. [...]

Some highlights:
- The deep, almost glossy black used to indicate built-up areas

Maybe the black area is used to represent evil and warn the forest people not to go there? Perhaps they should have added "Here there be dragons" just to make sure they get the message across?

Sadly, tourist maps are always the terrible maps. But that's ok to me - live in San Francisco and we get hordes of tourists, so the less able they are to find my neighorhood and stick to the kitchy stuff, the happier I am. So I encourage any professional cartographers making tourist maps of San Francisco, keep up the good work!